RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
A group of four Randolph Air Force Base Airmen has become more involved with each other's lives after developing a unique and competitive way to stay in shape.
Senior Airman Winsome Culley, a part-time personal fitness trainer, designed a competition fitness plan that focuses on participants' shedding body fat while adding muscle mass.
Three of his co-workers have joined him in seeing who could put on the most lean muscle mass through diet change and increased exercise in a program called "Fit To Do More Than Fight."
The group also charts weight loss, assigning a points system to gain an overall view of who performed the best.
The new routine earned credibility after getting a "stamp of approval" from Randolph's Health and Wellness Clinic.
"We took everyone's measurements when we started and we will get mid-term weigh-in and official taping, plus one final time when results are calculated in mid-January," Airman Culley said. "All our information is being recorded and scored on a points scale that rewards for the weight we shed. We all wanted to gain mass, too, so there are points for that."
The HAWC's role in the competition is to aid with measurements and help review eating habits with the Airmen to create maximum benefits.
"We love seeing work site programs such as this because it means people are more committed to staying with it," said Kimberly Houk, HAWC exercise physiologist. "When it's their idea, it tends to be successful. With work site programs such as this, participants have peer support, friend support and a healthy dose of friend 'ribbing'."
The group is treating the next three months as a "test challenge" in the hopes of generating interest within other units who become aware of the new program.
"I've done a lot of training but it's been on my own and never anything that's been official like this," said Staff Sgt. Joshua Fahlgren. "Now that there are people competing, it's a little more intense and requires a little more discipline."
That means more time in the Rambler gymnasium, too, to the dismay, perhaps, of family members at home. Sergeant Fahlgren estimates he spends one to two hours, four or five times a week, working out.
"My wife was a little upset at first because I spend more weekend time and after-work time there, but she understands," he said. "This program is helping me change a lot of bad habits and I'm having fun competing with the other guys."
Another participant, Master Sgt. Danny Marks echoed Sergeant Fahlgren in admitting late-night eating used to include chips and other "bad snacks." Sergeant Marks said he has lately avoided eating heavily when he gets home from work, while consuming more health-conscious meals that include tuna, chicken and other properly-cooked choices.
"I'm single so it's just me, and I was eating a lot of fast food," he said. "I've been looking at several diet plans in magazines and I've changed a lot in a short time. I am eating a lot of pasta, chicken and just way more healthy foods."
January prizes will include steak dinners for the two highest achievers and salads for those who place third and fourth.
"With this program, you have to limit your intake of red meat, but that will be our 'play-day,'" said Airman Culley. "We're basically all going to come out winners when this is over."